Quiet debut for the loud Chad Johnson in Miami

If Chad Johnson wanted to prove himself a new man, it wasn’t a good start.

The Dolphins wide receiver, who is trying to bury the Ochocinco that was so forgettable in New England last year, isn’t off to a great beginning.

An easy completion went right through his hands on the Dolphins first possession, falling harmlessly to the ground. It was his only opportunity at a catch, as the second wave of wideouts went in with quarterback Matt Moore as he played into the second quarter.

It’s an interesting time for Johnson.

He’s trying to be his old self, but after a profanity laden opening press conference, he was quickly scolded for his language by coach Joe Philbin, a scene captured on Hard Knocks.

He then changed his Twitter avatar this week to a picture of himself with his middle fingers raised but obscured, with the phrase: “No F—s Given.”

That makes it reasonable to wonder if he’s changed at all, or whether Philbin will tolerate Sideshow Chad for very long.

When he was first signed, my initial thought was “they only signed him to help with Hard Knocks ratings” …but after watching him this pre-season, I really think he wants to show to everyone that he can still be a good wide receiver…I don’t think he wants peoples’ last memory of him as a player to be what happened in New England last year. It will be interesting to see how this motivates him (or maybe I should say IF this motivates him)…time for some real reality for the reality star.

The only thing that will be of interest in a year will be when Chad joins the Sapp, Travis Henry, TO, Plax financial brigade, wishing he had become a grownup BEFORE he ruined his career and pocketbook acting the FOOL.

Everyone relax. It’s preseason. He had one pass his way. Not armageddon. I missed the game but it seems like the defense had their fair share of issues tonight. And the fact that Garrard didn’t get a snap just plays into every reservation people had about him.

Seven points on first night out doesn’t work. If the team doesn’t adopt more of Chad J. attitude this will be a long season.

Make up your mind, either pre-season games count or they don’t. Also, if what was shown on Hardknocks was a scolding, what word would be used to describe the coach-player communication of slightly more vocal head coaches Lombardi, Cowher, Parcells, etc. All in all, weaksauce. Also, comma.